Bill Summary for Bill Number SB12-068

Date: 04/30/2012

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB12-068

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Adopt prepared Amendment L.009 (Attachment E). The Refer Senate Bill 12-068, as amended, to the House	Pass Without Objection PASS

02:06 PM -- Senate Bill 12-068

Representative Massey and Representative Duran, co-prime sponsors of Senate Bill 12-068, presented the bill. Beginning September 1, 2013, the bill prohibits public schools from making food or beverages available that contain industrially produced trans fat. The prohibition applies on school grounds during school days. It excludes foods and beverages provided as part of the federal meal program and foods involved in fundraising efforts. Districts with more than 1,000 students must prohibit trans fat; districts with fewer than 1,000 students are encouraged to prohibit trans fat. A public school with fewer than 1,000 students in a district without a coordinated district-wide food service is exempted.

For the purposes of this bill, industrially produced trans fat means vegetable shortening, margarine, or any type of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil that is labeled as containing trans fat. As of January 1, 2006, food manufacturers have been required by the FDA to list trans fats on food labels.

Representative Massey provided a handout to the committee (Attachment D) and responded to a question from Representative Hamner about how the bill applies to foods brought from students' homes.

The following persons testified:

02:15 PM -- Dr. Jane Urschel, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), testified in opposition to the bill. Dr. Urschel stated that districts are implementing much of what is being asked by the bill already. She stated that the bill does not bring any resources with it. She said that U.S.D.A. standards already call for the elimination of added trans fats in school lunches and that most districts already have federal lunch programs in place. She added that the problem being contemplated by the bill is already being addressed at the federal and local levels.

Dr. Urschel responded to committee questions.

02:22 PM -- Mary Nichols, representing CASB, and herself, as a member of the Littleton School District Board of Education, testified in opposition to the bill. Ms. Nichols stated that she is happy to know that the bill sponsors share her concern about the health of the state's kids. She stated that healthy kids and good nutrition have a direct correlation to academic performance. She stated that she opposes the bill because school districts are already adopting and implementing the federal U.S.D.A. guidelines. She added that the bill is unnecessary.

02:25 PM -- Laurie Albright, representing CASB, testified in opposition to the bill. Ms. Albright stated that most school officials in Colorado are already aware of the need to get rid of the trans fats in foods. She stated that 17 months ago, the U.S.D.A. released guidelines that call for the elimination of trans fats in school lunches, and also requires that school lunches provide fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. She stated that the companies that provide school lunches are working to remove the trans fats from those foods that they send to schools. She stated that in the Boulder Valley School District, they are in full compliance with the federal regulations and that they prepare all foods from scratch. She discussed the costs of making these changes in the district, noting that to meet the federal requirements and to provide nutritious foods, it costs an additional twenty to thirty cents per student, per meal. She concluded by saying that we should let the school districts take on these federal requirements first and then see if further legislation is needed at the state level.

Ms. Nichols and Ms. Albright responded to questions from the committee.

02:37 PM -- Jason Morse, representing the American Heart Association, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Morse discussed his participation in the federal Chefs Move to Schools program. He stated that as schools move to more healthy foods and to preparing foods from scratch, food manufacturers are becoming mainstream with foods that offer no trans fats. He stated that when looking at costs to school districts in switching the foods, there was no cost difference. He stated that food manufacturers are willing and able to negotiate to meet the districts' needs and that trans fat free foods are just another option that is available to districts.

Mr. Morse responded to questions from the committee.

02:49 PM -- Patrick Donovan, representing Revolution Foods in Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Donovan discussed the mission and program of Revolution Foods, which is to make healthy food choices for schools by using no trans fats, no frying, no artifical ingredients, and no high fructose corn syrup. He stated that the provisions of the bill can be done, and that they can be done in low income communities where there may not be additional resources. He added that 80 percent of those served through his company's lunch program are on the Free and Reduced Price Lunch program through the federal government.

02:51 PM -- Rick Metz, representing the Colorado Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (CoAHPERD), testified in support of the bill. He stated that he represents teachers in physical education and health who are committed to teaching students about healthy foods and recreation programs. He stated that healthy eating is a vital part of becoming a healthy citizen.

02:53 PM -- John Giardino, representing Colorado PTA, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Giardino gave a brief history of the PTA. He stated that the organization advocates on behalf of all children, noting that PTA has always had children's health issues as a major focus. He said that he wants to see the bill pass so that the policy will be implemented in all schools in Colorado. He added that PTA accepts the exemption from the bill for fundraising items, but still has concerns about parents who send those items to school with their kids.

02:59 PM -- Christina Scribner, representing herself as a parent of four children, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Scribner discussed her background as a dietician and nutritionist, noting that her client base is mostly children. She stated that she does not feel good about the lunches that are served at schools, and that other parents feel the same way. She added that people are interested in buying healthier foods.

03:03 PM -- Dr. Randy Moyer, representing the American Heart Association, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Moyer discussed his background in the healthcare industry. He stated that trans fats are not food and cause major health problems including raising bad cholesterol and lowering good cholesterol in the body. He stated that the impact of trans fats is irreversible because they change the makeup of the cellular membrane. He stated that trans fats impact the memory and that the medications used to treat high cholesterol also impact memory functions negatively. He stated that we send kids to school to be productive, but feed them foods that are not productive. He added that we have a great opportunity to get to the root of the problem of something that we know is going to cause cardiovascular disease, and that this bill is a great strategy to help protect the health of students in Colorado.

Dr. Moyer responded to questions from the committee.

03:12 PM -- Carrie Lehtonen, representing herself as a survivor and health coach, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Lehtonen described her personal experience with heart disease, stating that she suffered a heart attack at age 31. She stated that the heart attack was the result of plaque bursting in her arteries. She stated that she had experienced symptoms all day as she was on a 60 mile bike ride, but did not think she was having a heart attack; she said her friend took her to the hospital. She stated that heart disease claims one in four lives; more than any type of cancer. She stated that we have moved away from eating real food. She added that if entire cities like New York City can take out all trans fats from foods, then we can too.

03:15 PM -- Gabriel Kaplan, representing the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Kaplan stated that Colorado is often referred to as the leanest state, but that is not saying much when everyone else is failing. He stated that less than half of Coloradoans are at a healthy weight and that the perspective in the long run does not bode well. He stated that there are no safe levels of trans fat consumption due to the negative impacts on health and cholesterol.


BILL:	SB12-068
TIME:	03:17:56 PM
MOVED:	Schafer S.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.009 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Hamner
		VOTE
	Hamner
	Holbert
	Joshi
	Kerr A.
	Murray
	Peniston
	Ramirez
	Schafer S.
	Solano
	Summers
	Todd
	Beezley
	Massey

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

03:18 PM

The bill sponsors provided closing comments to the bill. Representative Massey stated that the bill creates consistency across the state and lets Colorado step up to be a leader in children's health policy.

Representative Massey and Representative Duran responded to questions from the committee.

Representative Massey discussed the fiscal note, saying that the cost is attributed to the outreach that would be performed, however, he stated that the federal government is already doing outreach on this issue and that the cost noted in the fiscal note no longer applies.


BILL:	SB12-068
TIME:	03:20:22 PM
MOVED:	Massey
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 12-068, as amended, to the House Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a roll call vote of 8-5.
SECONDED:	Todd
		VOTE
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	No
	Joshi	No
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Murray	No
	Peniston	Yes
	Ramirez	No
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Todd	Yes
	Beezley	No
	Massey	Yes

Final YES: 8 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS